Bad and good jobs for people with aspergers.

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brownin329
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05 Mar 2014, 9:50 am

I know you got this from autism.com, but many of these jobs are low paying. In this day and age it just doesn't make any fiscal sense unless you're on disability and can only work a low wage job or are just not verbal enough for a fast paced sales job.

For those of us who are verbal and do not want to work in IT, this list is not great. It's time to think outside the box. Here's my top 5 for those Aspie helpers (not in any order):

1. Mortuary embalmer or cosmetologist
2. X-ray technician
3. Ultrasound or dialysis technician
4. Therapist (physical or occupational, not counseling or social work)
5. ICU nurse (tending to the comatose may be good)

Teachers:
1. Curriculum specialist or creator (teacherspayteachers.com is a great site where you can sell your own lesson plans)
2. Tutor or SEIT/SETTS (best not to work with children with behavioral problems or children on the spectrum, trust me; I am a SEIT)
3. Reading specialist
4. Museum docent (American Museum of Natural History or the Train Museum would be ideal)
5. computer teacher
*another one is a specialist teacher that goes from school to school teaching things like chess or nutrition. You may work for an agency or organization.

Art (so many in art)
1. sketch artist
2. 3D animator
3. cartoonist/comic book collector and sales
4. glass blower/scupltor
5. art gallery assistant
**photographer (it is overcrowded but there are more ways to make a living now and you dont even have to interact with a lot of people)

Animals (some of these were in the other list):
1. Dog groomer/walker
2. Dog trainer/breeder (being a breed expert would be wonderful)
3. Zoologist
4. Marine researcher
5. farm docent

Food
1. personal chef
2. cookbook writer
3. cake artist
4. food photographer
5. taste tester
**factories may be good places to work, with lots of repetitive tasks and benefits, but in some parts of the country, there are no food factories)

Science
1. lab tech
2. textbook writer
3. professor (have to do research and deal with tenure)
4. engineer
5.

Vocation:
1. Carpenters
2. Architect designer
3. facilities manager
4. maintenance worker/maid service
5. private shopper

Publishing
1. writer
2. editor
3. art design
4. Traffic
**I wouldn't do traffic without a solid knowledge of HTML and Flash. Traffic has changed a lot since I was in it.

Broadcasting
1. technical director
2. writer
3. sound engineer
4. lighting engineer
5. tape/library assistant or conservationist

there are more but these are what I came up with.

The truth is, Aspies can work in any field; it's the workplace environment which hangs us out to dry.

What I would like is for job advertisements to add what their work environments are honestly like before I apply. That way I can avoid a lot of unnecessary interactions with people who may overwhelm me.

Sort of like, "We're looking for a bubbly, sparkly personality," let's me know not to even bother.

I can do almost anything provided people left me alone to do it. Give me the work, tell me what you want done, how you want it done, give me the resources to do it, the deadline and where to put it when it is done then go away.

I wish I could create a company where people like me (introverted/Aspie) could go to work in peace. I am tired of wearing my headphones everywhere all day long.



zee wrote:
Here is an excellent list which includes bad and good jobs:

Table 1 Bad Jobs for People with High Functioning Autism or Asperger's Syndrome: Jobs that require high demands on short-term working memory

Cashier -- making change quickly puts too much demand on short-term working memory
Short order cook -- Have to keep track of many orders and cook many different things at the same time
Waitress -- Especially difficult if have to keep track of many different tables
Casino dealer -- Too many things to keep track of
Taxi dispatcher -- Too many things to keep track of
Taking oral dictation -- Difficult due to auditory processing problems
Airline ticket agent -- Deal with angry people when flights are cancelled
Future market trader -- Totally impossible
Air traffic controller -- Information overload and stress
Receptionist and telephone operator -- Would have problems when the switch board got busy


Table 2 Good Jobs for Visual Thinkers

Computer programming -- Wide-open field with many jobs available especially in industrial automation, software design, business computers, communications and network systems
Drafting -- Engineering drawings and computer aided drafting. This job can offer many opportunities. Drafting is an excellent portal of entry for many interesting technical jobs. I know people who started out at a company doing drafting and then moved into designing and laying out entire factories. To become really skilled at drafting, one needs to learn how to draw by hand first. I have observed that most of the people who draw beautiful drawings on a computer learned to draw by hand first. People who never learn to draw by hand first tend to leave important details out of their drawings.
Commercial art -- Advertising and magazine layout can be done as freelance work
Photography -- Still and video, TV cameraman can be done as freelance work
Equipment designing -- Many industries, often a person starts as a draftsman and then moves into designing factory equipment
Animal trainer or veterinary technician -- Dog obedience trainer, behavior problem consultant
Automobile mechanic -- Can visualize how the entire car works
Computer-troubleshooter and repair -- Can visualize problems in computers and networks
Small appliance and lawnmower repair -- Can make a nice local business
Handcrafts of many different types such as wood carving, jewelry making, ceramics, etc.
Laboratory technician -- Who modifies and builds specialized lab equipment
Web page design -- Find a good niche market can be done as freelance work
Building trades -- Carpenter or welder. These jobs make good use of visual skills but some people will not be able to do them well due to motor and coordination problems.
Video game designer -- Stay out of this field. Jobs are scarce and the field is overcrowded. There are many more jobs in industrial, communications business and software design computer programming. Another bad thing about this job is exposure to violent images.
Computer animation -- Visual thinkers would be very good at this field, but there is more competition in this field than in business or industrial computer programming. Businesses are recruiting immigrants from overseas because there is a shortage of good programmers in business and industrial fields.
Building maintenance -- Fixes broken pipes, windows and other things in an apartment complex, hotel or office building
Factory maintenance -- Repairs and fixes factory equipment


Table 3 Good Jobs for Non-Visual Thinkers: Those who are good at math, music or facts

Accounting -- Get very good in a specialized field such as income taxes
Library science -- reference librarian. Help people find information in the library or on the Internet.
Computer programming -- Less visual types can be done as freelance work
Engineering -- Electrical, electronic and chemical engineering
Journalist -- Very accurate facts, can be done as freelance
Copy editor -- Corrects manuscripts. Many people freelance for larger publishers
Taxi driver -- Knows where every street is
Inventory control -- Keeps track of merchandise stocked in a store
Tuning pianos and other musical instruments, can be done as freelance work
Laboratory technician -- Running laboratory equipment
Bank Teller -- Very accurate money counting, much less demand on short-term working memory than a busy cashier who mostly makes change quickly
Clerk and filing jobs -- knows where every file is
Telemarketing -- Get to repeat the same thing over and over, selling on the telephone. Noisy environment may be a problem. Telephone sales avoids many social problems.
Statistician -- Work in many different fields such as research, census bureau, industrial quality control, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, etc.
Physicist or mathematician -- There are very few jobs in these fields. Only the very brilliant can get and keep jobs. Jobs are much more plentiful in computer programming and accounting.


Table 4 Jobs for Nonverbal People with Autism or People with Poor Verbal Skills

Reshelving library books -- Can memorize the entire numbering system and shelf locations
Factory assembly work -- Especially if the environment is quiet
Copy shop -- Running photocopies. Printing jobs should be lined up by somebody else
Janitor jobs -- Cleaning floors, toilets, windows and offices
Restocking shelves -- In many types of stores
Recycling plant -- Sorting jobs
Warehouse -- Loading trucks, stacking boxes
Lawn and garden work -- Mowing lawns and landscaping work
Data entry -- If the person has fine motor problems, this would be a bad job
Fast food restaurant -- Cleaning and cooking jobs with little demand on short-term memory
Plant care -- Water plants in a large office building

http://autism.com/individuals/jobs.htm



Onixior
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22 Apr 2014, 3:34 pm

In my experience, avoid being a chef. I destroyed part of the stove trying to make tea (a story I don't want to get into).



Metalwolf
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22 Apr 2014, 4:50 pm

In my experience, grocery store cashier. Boring, high stress job that makes you learn to hate people. Even NTs who get into it learn to hate it after a while.

You HAVE to talk to each and every customer (even if it's just to say hi) there is unnatural lighting, tons of erratic electronic beeping noises, and you are stuck in a little 2 foot square 'cubicle' for 6-8 hours. Plus sometimes you get those people who treat you like dirt, and even have people try to scam the store or try to intimidate you "But you won't let me use this old expired coupon? They let me use an expired coupon at the other store, I wanna see your manager!" (Even though we aren't supposed to take expired coupons.) Once I am no longer cashier, I promise myself I will never take another cashier position, ever again. :evil:


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